Linking Georgina Year in Review Report September 2021 – June 2022

Co-Chairs: Tim Greenwood and Marie Morton.  (Took turns chairing alternate months)

Secretary: Niv Bala and Carolyn Grossi

Leadership Group: Michael Johnny (York U), Erin Straughan (YRT), Fatima Mawji (Sandgate), Niv Balachandran (Routes), Yvonne Kelly (Social Planning Council/YRDSB)

The Linking Georgina Community Table held online meetings at all the regular scheduled times on the fourth Monday of the month (except for May when it was the fifth) from September 2021 to June 2022 – meeting online from 1.30 pm to approximately 3 pm. Meetings were held in September, October, November, January, February, March, April, May and June.

In previous years the Leadership Group met several times a year to discuss planning and other issues but this year due to many members being busy with the Community Action Table for Georgina there were few meetings and a couple of requests for input and suggestions through email.

Co-Chairs also consulted with Sandra Hanmer, Niv Balachandran and Carolyn Grossi about issues related to Linking Georgina.

At the online meetings we regularly had between 20 to 30+ participants representing agencies or groups that reside in and/or provide service in the Georgina area. We began each meeting with a Land Acknowledgement and in some cases, there was a story that in its content served as a Land Acknowledgement.

We were able to start each meeting with two presentations chosen to be timely, relevant and of interest to members. Agencies and issues covered in the presentations included: Local Immigration Partnership, YSpace collaboration with York University, YouthSpeak youth programs, 360 Kids program on Cannabis use and harm reduction, Krasman Centre and Harm Reduction/Peer Support, Rescue Lake Simcoe initiative and other environmental programs, Sandgate Women’s Shelter, York Region Community Legal Clinic, Routes Connecting Communities programs, Jericho Youth Services – Cyber Seniors and Pen Pal and other programs, YRPH smoking cessation, Georgina Pride, Sharing on Minokamik and Indigenous cultural awareness and finally the Good Food Collective. We set aside time after presentations for Q&A and in some cases there was lively discussion.

We were pleased we were able to have Leah Sheridan from Georgina Pride present in May just before Pride Month and Shelley Charles, an Indigenous elder from Georgina Island present in June during National Indigenous History month.

During our meetings we shared with members activities and initiatives related to the Georgina Community Action Table (Georgina CAT) with its focus on promoting intiatives and programs addressing Mental Wellness and Employment and Income Generation.  Round 1 recipients of the Georgina CAT Quick Action Grant program presented their ideas and talked about the success of their initiatives. In the second part of the year we encouraged members to share specific events and intiatives related to these target areas.

We also continued to include on our agenda encouraging sharing of Good News related to Georgina and examples of or opportunities for collaborative efforts. At the end of the meeting we also saved time for members to introduce themselves if they were new and to also share any time relevant programs or events.  Participants were also encouraged to add flyers of information into the Chat or email to the Linking Georgina email address and these were sent out to the Linking Georgina mail list.

Updates and Plans for September 2022 – June 2023

Linking Georgina now has a rejuvenated website that is going to be officially launched at Community Lunch at the Link on July 13.  We also have a new dedicated email address at info@linkinggeorgina.ca

We are planning to start meeting in person in September 2022. We plan to have a meeting of the Linking Georgina Leadership group in early September. Location of meeting TBD.

Both Tim Greenwood and Marie Morton have been Co-Chairs of Linking Georgina over two years. We are looking to see if there might be one person who would like to step up as Co-Chair as a change in and a sharing of leadership is a healthy thing. One of the current Co-Chairs intends to stay on even if there is someone interested in stepping up

Have a Great Summer and see you in September (if not sooner)

Tim Greenwood

Linking Georgina Co-Chair

July 8, 2022